As You Wish
by Brachylagus-fandom
Summary: Hermione was a book girl, through and through. This is a somewhat AU version of HP, from Hermione's perspective and through the views of books. Little H/Hr at the end.
1. Dracula Thinks This is Insane

**This story is a tad AU, featuring book-smuggling Hermione.**

* * *

At age ten, Hermione Granger's utmost favorite book was _The Princess Bride_. Swordfights, revenge, true love, miracles… what more could a girl ask for? A personal copy, given to her by her Aunt Edith on her seventh birthday, was well-worn and well-loved. Of course, that was before it was turned to ash. Hermione refused to cry. She was a witch and she could have a happy ending, books or no books.

First year was a year of discovery for Hermione and the others. She was a witch. She was smart. She had friends. The only thing she lacked, it seemed, was books. Oddly, the paperback copy of _Dracula_ snuck into her trunk against school orders seemed fitting.

A mysterious bidding to a castle far, far away. A hidden danger. A monster masquerading as a person. A dashing hero sacrificing everything for the girl he loves…

A death.

Like it or not, Dark Lord or not, Quirrell had died. Harry had killed him. Not that Hermione doubted his choices, of course, but the end result was the same. There was one less reincarnation of Voldemort, one less battle. Harry was scarred. Hermione was scarred. The story went untold.

Hermione was sitting in a crowd of hundreds but felt lonely. Her house had won but she felt lost. In a few days, she would lose the Harry she had met. It would only be for a week or two, but she would still lose him.

As her parents drove home from King's Cross, Hermione reread _The Princess Bride_ one more time. The story seemed to have lost its grandeur. Sure, magic was real, but there were no gallant farmboys, no strong young girls, no peaceful giants, no sharp-witted swordsmen out for revenge; all the world offered, it seemed, was evil princes, psychotic counts, and dastardly Sicilians.


	2. All the Mockingbirds Are Good and Dead

Second year was a time of harshness and growing danger. This time, Hermione's parents had sent her up to school with _To Kill a Mockingbird_. Hermione got the cynicism behind that choice, now that her parents knew the truth. Again, the reflections were odd, obvious, and kind of disturbing.

A racist backdrop for a racially driven story? Check, sort of, if you counted blood purity as racism. A suspect picked and convicted due not to his actions but to his blood? Check twice over. A bigoted society intent on not seeing the truth? Check. An incident motivated by the above event leading to a boy severely injuring his arm? Check. The whole debacle seen through the eyes of a naive child? Double check.

Like it or not, the Ministry had found a mockingbird in Hagrid. Hagrid, the misguided man who never would hurt a fly. Hagrid, who made bad decisions but wasn't a bad person. Hagrid, Harry's friend.

Hermione didn't believe in fairytales anymore, but this sure as hell wasn't one. Hagrid was a gentle force, strong and competent but a bit dim. He wasn't supposed to be hurt. He was supposed to be the strong one.

Harry was injured. Hagrid came back. A basilisk died. No one was told. Business returned to normal. Hermione was sick of _The Princess Bride_. It was too daydreamy, a pretending of something that could happen. Maybe, one day, it would get better. For now, she wasn't holding out hope.


	3. Even Dantes Didn't Go This Far

Third year began with the breakout of a prisoner. It was funny, really, how the book hidden in her trunk matched her life. Of course, it took her a while to figure that out.

The book of the year was _The Count of Monte Cristo_ , translated and unabridged. As the year ticked to a close and Harry finally ripped the Time Turner out of her hand, the pieces fell into place.

Sirius, in a way, was their Dantes; he had been at the prime of his life before being thrown in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Caderousse, doing nothing, was the general public. Pettigrew, having come up with the idea, was Fernand. Dumbledore, having allowed events to proceed and done Pettigrew's dirty work, was Danglars. The Wizengamot, having thrown him in jail to look good, was Villefort.

Sirius, sans a Faria-type character, had escaped his daunting Chateau d'If. He was now on his karma tour, minus the rewards. When she told him this, Sirius laughed hollowly. It was something Lily had mentioned, he said. She had loved Dumas, he added.

Sirius escaped. Dumbledore was nervous. Amelia Bones was angry. The Granger household swelled. It was finally looking like balance was coming; the good would balance out the bad. Maybe Hermione could believe in fairytales after all. _The Princess Bride_ didn't have a happy middle part. Why should her journey have one? She had her Wesley. She had her Fezzik. She had her Inigo. She had Reubens and Humperdinks aplenty.

It would be an interesting story when it was done.


	4. No Ithaca to Go Back To

Year four, the year it all fell apart, began with a kiss on a train and a tattered copy of _The Odyssey_ snuck into her luggage. Harry grinned as the Tournament was announced, thinking he would be at peace.

That fateful smile, a flashback to a grinning Odysseus leaving Sparta for home, would give Hermione nightmares for years to come.

The Tournament went from borderline insane to something straight out of Homer's mouth very quickly. A young hero, wanting peace, must fight his way through scores of monsters. He does this because an old man who certainly doesn't have his best interests at hearts bids it so. Despite all odds, the hero's cunning saves him from certain death.

Along the way, his companion dies.

Cedric, who Harry had barely known, was mourned. He wasn't mourned as a victim of Voldemort but as a brave young man having had a tragic accident. It made Hermione sick to her stomach.

Voldemort was back. No one was safe. Odysseus would never reach Ithaca; there was no Ithaca anymore. As Hermione evolved into Penelope, waiting for Harry to come, she grew interested in that one work of Goldman again.

Buttercup, for all her faults, had refused the destiny forced upon her. Wesley, for all his strengths, had been forced onto a path not of his own making. Inigo's path was written in fire and blood and Fezzik's in mistakes. It was like her life, in a way; a bit too much like her life, really, if she was honest.


	5. No Juror Eight Around

Fifth year was a mix of controversy and Reginald Rose. Harry was the defendant, of course. Umbridge, Hermione thought, was Juror Three, convinced of his guilt. The others were undecided.

They really needed a Juror Eight. They needed someone more that on the fence about their innocence.

 _Twelve Angry Men_ wasn't supposed to end in death but their version did. _Twelve Angry Men_ wasn't supposed to end in conviction but their version did.

 _The Princess Bride_ , for all its attempts at being a realistic story, had a happy ending. Hermione wasn't so sure her life would have one anymore. Their Wesley, their planner was dead, and no Miracle Max lurked around to change that.


	6. Sauron Is Kinder

Sixth year was a mix of potions, curses, plots, schemes, kisses, and the _Lord of the Rings_ saga, a familiar comfort. As the secrets of horcruxes unwound, the One Ring seemed a bit on the nose. Again, the book was all too familiar.

First, take your hero from their normal life on a fantastic quest. Second, limit their other options. Third, have magical mind-altering objects and a requirement of their destruction. Fourth, have a secretive mentor, though Gandalf couldn't hold a candle to Dumbledore at his finest. Battle creatures taking away your soul. Nearly die thanks to giant spiders. See what mind-altering objects can do to people around them too long. Have the mentor die.

Hermione was perfectly fine with Dumbledore not returning. Harry didn't want to be Frodo anymore than Frodo wanted to be Frodo; he was Sam and she was Rosy in the best of their dreams.


	7. Empty Chairs

The hunt was on. They had nothing to lose and everything to win. Hermione had put a copy of _Les Miserables_ in her pack, just to give a sense of normalcy. It failed. The Horcrux hunt was a sweep of insanity, shoving her and Harry together and apart. _Les Mis_ was surprisingly accurate.

Like the book, a former criminal died free. Like the book, true love was found - sort of. Like the book, actions had consequences. Like the book, a revolution occurred. Like the book, people died.

Hermione was nearly convinced that the Hogwarts death toll was higher. There were so many graves, most of them far too small, to dig for it to be a victory. The revelry left a bitter taste in her mouth as she left to find her parents.

Once more, she picked up _The Princess Bride_. She didn't want to be Buttercup anymore. She was Inigo, the smart one.

Still, when Harry gave that smirk and muttered "as you wish", Hermione couldn't deny that it made her heart leap. Maybe happy endings existed after all.


End file.
